'Olga Company merged into Vought Group?'
'Olga Company is now controlled by Homelander?'
'What happened these past two days?'
'Something's off. I'm at Seven Tower every day. Why didn't I hear about something this big beforehand?'
One question after another appeared in Ashley's head.
She was starting to wonder if she had been going to some fake job.
Vought Group had once again become the center of attention for the Federation, and she herself was right in the middle of it.
And yet she somehow hadn't noticed?
'What the hell is this?'
Ding! Dong!
The door opened.
Ashley quickly stepped out of the elevator and gulped down several mouthfuls of coffee.
Then she threw the unfinished coffee and the newspaper into the trash can nearby.
She straightened her clothes, took out her makeup compact, and used the mirror inside to adjust her smile.
Then, showing the smile she was most satisfied with, Ashley walked into the command hall.
———
Inside the command hall, sunlight filled the room. Alex stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at New York's steel forest.
Without even turning around, he knew Ashley had arrived.
Having just obtained control of Olga Company, he turned around and showed a smile.
Ashley immediately greeted him first.
"Good morning, sir."
"Good morning, Miss Ashley," Alex clasped his hands behind his back and walked toward her.
Ashley felt flattered and said with a smile, "I heard you were looking for me?"
"Yes."
Alex walked past her and casually asked, "Miss Ashley, what do you think of the way I treat you?"
The moment she heard this question, Ashley's heart dropped.
She was no longer a newbie to the workplace. She knew very well that when your boss asked something like this, it usually meant you had done something that displeased him.
That was why there was this kind of opening.
But the problem was, Ashley felt she hadn't done anything to upset Homelander.
The things she had been busy with recently could basically be said to have nothing to do with Homelander.
As the current hidden boss of Vought Group, if it involved Homelander in any way, Ashley would definitely ask for his opinion first.
So Alex's question left her confused.
She carefully said, "Very well, sir."
"I'm proud to work by your side."
Then she asked, "Did I do something wrong?"
Alex smiled, "Nothing. I'm just checking on my employees."
"After all, the work you handle is very important. I'm worried you might be too tired."
"If you feel overworked, tell me."
"I'll assign an assistant to you."
Ashley relaxed and nodded, "Thank you for your concern, sir."
"If it becomes too much, I'll tell you."
But she didn't think that at all. No matter how tired she got, she would never ask Alex for an assistant.
Once there was an assistant around, part of her authority would definitely be shared.
Ashley was very satisfied with her current job, especially some of the "privileges" she had as Homelander's assistant.
Naturally, she didn't want someone taking part of that power away.
Alex sat down in a chair, "Really? Looks like my concern was unnecessary."
"You really are full of energy, Ashley."
"I heard you also helped with selecting members for The Seven reserve team."
Ashley kept smiling as she said, "The work team came to ask for my opinion, so I just helped within my ability and shared a little of the workload."
"Mhm! Supersonic was your recommendation, right?"
"Yes. He's great, isn't he?", Ashley said with a smile.
Alex nodded, "Arnold gave you quite a bit of money, didn't he?"
"No, he only gave me the house in Hawaii and the yacht—"
Suddenly, Ashley stopped.
The smile on her face vanished.
She quickly said, "Sir, I did meet with Mr. Arnold."
"But I swear, before meeting him, I had no idea Mr. Arnold would be there."
"He originally wanted me to recommend Supersonic into The Seven."
"But I firmly refused him."
"I told him, and emphasized it clearly..."
"Members of The Seven must be decided by you."
"I believed Supersonic wasn't qualified to join The Seven, so I recommended him for the reserve selection instead."
"Although I recommended Supersonic to the work team, I swear I never took part in the selection process."
"Being able to join the reserve team was entirely due to Supersonic's own ability."
Alex raised his head and looked at the woman whose desire to survive was overflowing.
Without even using the "Eye of Truth," Alex already knew Ashley wasn't lying.
After all, her heartbeat had already gone over 100. She was obviously terrified. She wouldn't dare lie at a time like this.
"Miss Ashley, I believe you didn't participate in the selection process."
"But you're my assistant. A casual remark from you, or even the act of recommending Supersonic itself..."
"...would send more than enough signals to the work team."
"Do you understand what I mean?"
"So don't play little tricks with me."
Alex lightly tapped the desk with his finger. Each tap made Ashley's legs feel weaker, "You are my assistant. Everything you say and do represents my will."
"We'll let this one pass."
"But I don't want there to be a next time."
"You only need to do your job as an assistant."
"Don't use your authority to handle personal matters."
"Otherwise, next time I won't be this easy to talk to."
Ashley quickly said, "I understand, sir."
"I promise there absolutely won't be a next time."
Only then did Alex wave his hand, "You can leave."
Ashley secretly let out a sigh of relief, then held onto the wall as she walked toward the door.
She was terrified.
Her whole body felt weak right now, even more exhausting than being messed around with by her younger boyfriend all night.
But just as she was about to walk out the door, she heard Alex say, "Oh right."
"Your bonus for this year is canceled."
"You don't have a problem with that, do you?"
Ashley's whole body shuddered. She felt wronged inside, but she still forced out a smile.
"No problem, sir."
Only then did she walk out of the command hall.
Once she reached the hallway, she forced herself to stay calm and tried hard to maintain her smile.
After entering her office and shutting the door, she finally started shouting and swept everything off her desk.
———
[That Same Morning, Florida]
Former CIA member Grace Mallory, who had fled there, was eating breakfast.
On the television, a news report was playing.
["Yesterday afternoon, Olga Company announced shocking news."]
["The company's leader declared that they had merged into Vought Group and were now controlled by Homelander."]
["Although Olga Company's stock once fell after the Manhattan incident, recently, after reaching agreements with the Department of Defense on several major projects, the stock began rising again."]
["Olga Company's future looked extremely promising. No one expected that at a time like this, it would merge into Vought Group..."]
Mallory took a sip of coffee and looked at Homelander's photo on the screen.
"That bastard."
At that moment, the ceiling above her suddenly shattered, and a figure dropped down from above, landing in front of her.
The woman slowly straightened up. It was a small woman with an uneven hairstyle and a smile on her face.
"Good morning, Mrs. Mallory. Finally found you."
The Seven, Stormfront!
Seeing Stormfront, Mallory immediately reached under the table.
There was a handgun there.